


a sky we can't remember

by kionyu



Series: the darker stage of twillight [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Gen, Implied Character Death, and the interactions they might've had, are half brothers, young akashi, young kuroko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 18:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10314206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kionyu/pseuds/kionyu
Summary: Kuroko and Akashi as brothers - a backstory.





	

There were a lot of things they shared – conversations late at night; a lunch when Kuroko forgot his at home; and a father. 

In Seirin, playing side by side with Kagami, it was easy to forget, that the Akashi with the cold glint in his eyes on the court, was not the same one that held Kuroko's hand under that sky he couldn't quite remember. 

Akashi was the suprior son. That was the truth of it. He was better at languages, better at sports, better at being seen. 

Kuroko was the invisible bastard child. But he never resented that, not when he’d _known_ Akashi Seijuro. 

Being the sole legal heir to the Akashi estate was a heavy burden, and even when they were seven years old, Kuroko could see that Seijuro was deeply unhappy.

Their father (a man whom he’d met briefly for the first time, at the hospital) had feathered his hair hesitantly. "Tetsuya, you'll be living with us from now on."

Kuroko had stared ahead, dull and apathetic at Akashi Seijuro, who had shown like a beacon with his red hair in the muted tones of their father's study. 

"This is your half brother, Seijuro."

Seijuro took a step close, and Kuroko winced and went to take a bow -

But Seijuro's arms wrapped around him instead, and Kuroko's eyes widened. "I'm very sorry for your loss, brother." His voice was softer than Kuroko expected, and more important than anything else, he sounded like he meant it. His eyes stun. 

Their father had left them alone - as Kuroko will come to learn was going to be a fact of their life - and Kuroko had cried into his brother's equally small shoulders. For his own loss, and for his brother's kindness, when Kuroko didn’t deserve any. 

*

"Do you ever hate me, nii-san?" Kuroko asked plainly, swinging his feet back and forth above the still garden pond in the sweltering heat. Something about the setting sun made him want to speak honestly, he hoped it would make Seijuro do the same.

"Do not ask stupid questions, Tetsuya," Seijuro said, not unkindly. He watched as a dragonfly rested on a lily pad; sweat was trailing down the nape of his neck.

Kuroko turned and directed his stare at his brother. Seijuro resolutely did not meet his gaze, so Kuroko kept staring, he knew Seijuro's weakness, now.

"Staring is rude, you know," Seijuro eventually said, and Kuroko knew he won. His brother sighed and met his gaze. "Of course I don't hate you. Why the sudden ridiculous concern?"

Kuroko glanced at the orange red skies, and how Seijuro never said no to playing with him, no matter how much work their father assigned him for the day. He will stay up late or work through lunch to make this time for the little brother that he never asked for. 

There were many reasons for his older brother to hate him. Kuroko almost wished he did.

"I would understand if you did," is what he said aloud. _I would have, if I was in your place._

Kuroko may not be the one receiving their father’s attention in the form of rigorous education, but he had Seijuro’s mother, and he had freedom. 

His brother placed his hand over Kuroko's, and the younger started at the unexpected touch. "Please don't ever think that," Seijuro said, and for some reason he couldn’t explain, Kuroko wanted to cry. "I need you much more than you realize, Tetsuya." Seijuro twined his fingers with Kuroko's. 

Their hands are the same size, but Kuroko felt the rough callouses on Seijuro’s finger tips from hours of violin, where his own was only marred with a scab from when he fell playing basketball.

Seijuro's hand tightened around his, and Kuroko wondered, much later on, if his brother knew what was to come for his mother.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that having Kuroko's mom die in an accident is super cliche x( but I had to make the circumstance work out somehow, sorry!
> 
> Thank you very much for reading and I appreciate any feedback! ^.^


End file.
